


if it was them

by angelheartbeat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Character Death, F/M, M/M, Non-Canonical Character Death, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 17:31:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14477700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelheartbeat/pseuds/angelheartbeat
Summary: When he clicks, half the universe dies.But its the other half.





	if it was them

**Author's Note:**

> au where everyone who didnt disappear in the film,, disappears  
> does that make sense

"Steve!"

There's a tingling in Steve's fingers, spreading fast through his body, and he can see Bucky running towards him quicker than he thought possible, face screwed up in concern and fear. Something dusty blows towards Buck, and Steve can't feel his arm, and the tingling is spreading.

When he glances down his arms not there.

He barely has time to process before he's disappearing, body changing into dust, and Bucky seems so far away, and god he wishes Bucky could protect him like he used to, hold him together in the depths of night, make him explode with every stolen kiss in a disapproving society.

And his body is disappearing and he has so much he wants to say but then hes gone, gone,  _gone._

And Bucky's left with a pile of ash, tears in his eyes and dust on his hands that was  _just_ the man he loved, just a few moments and he might have been able to catch him and pull him back together through force of will alone, and his brain is struggling to process. Just a few seconds before Steve was solid, was muscular and heroic and had a heart of gold that was all now scattered in the dirt of the wrong time period.

* * *

Tony always hoped he'd go out with a bang, preferably having made a snarky one-liner and with his family around him ( _god he wished he'd said a proper goodbye to Pep_ ).

He never imagined he'd go out in a puff of dust on an alien planet surrounded by people he barely knew and Peter, god, poor little Pete who was sniffling through tears rolling down his cheeks and doing the best he could to keep Tony together, to stop the disintegration of his body blowing away into the sky.

If only he'd done things differently, things would have been better. Peter wouldn't have to see him die. Pep would be a hell of a lot less stressed. Maybe Happy would even actually be  _happy._ Rhodey's legs would be okay. Bruce wouldn't have been missing for two years. He'd still be talking to Steve.

Peter's full on sobbing, whispering that he _doesn't want Tony to go, please Mr Stark, people need you, I need you, you have to stay, I dont want you to go-_

Tony doesn't want to go either. He'd wanted a child. He had one. Who definitely didn't deserve or need to have someone who never did him right in the first place die in his arms.

Which is why he cups Peter's face with his non-disintegrated arm, quickly disappearing, and wipes away some of the tears rolling down his cheek.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, and then he's nothing.

* * *

Nebula didn't know whether she was even able to die, her body so stuffed full of programming and metal that she was a robot, not a person.

If only she'd seen Gamora again, truly patched things up with the sister she'd wanted since she was small and knew nothing besides the pain of her limbs being ripped off and replaced with technology.

But she can see the accursed fucking metal disappearing into ash, dying and flying away before her very eyes, and if she could well up she would.

Some small part of her that grows into a big part as the percentage of  _her_ dwindles fast is relieved. Her life has been one endless, painful trainwreck after another. Now she was finally able to end it.

She wonders, if metal could feel, if death was painful.

It wasn't.

* * *

 _I wish I'd been a better fucking person,_ Rocket thinks, reaching out to the one stupid little tree who always believed in him, even through his own death. 

He wonders if Quill is okay, if Drax and Mantis and Gamora are still alive and breathing and if they were, he hoped they'd miss him.

Thats selfish, but he thinks he's allowed a little selfishness as his body goes up in dust. He'd finally found family, and now he was losing them. Or, they were losing him.

And he did hope they would miss him. He thought they would. It was odd, because he'd always thought he'd fight against death, the way he'd fought so viciously in life.

But he doesn't, he accepts it, and he finally knows why Groot had sacrificed himself for them all, all that time ago.

They're family.

* * *

Ironically, Rhodey's legs disappear first, and as such he doesn't feel it until he stumbles to the ground, Sam's name catching in his throat as he falls.

"Rhodey?"

Again, ironic - the guy he'd been calling for calling back just as he begins to feel his body disappear, spreading fast and painfully.

Its not worth calling out again, and he almost chuckles as he disappears into nothing.

If there's an afterlife, he thinks it'll be nice to feel his legs again.

* * *

"This is no place to die," her king says, reaching out a hand to help Okoye up off the ground, but her hand isn't there to grasp, and its with a jolt of terror that she realizes she's about to die, her body disappearing right before her.

T'challa realizes too, eyes wide, lunging to gather the ashes scattering the dirt, desperate to keep her from disappearing. This really is no place to die.

Okoye is peaceful, though, brain having already caught up and almost, but not quite, accepted it.

She inclines her head, slightly, and breathes a gentle "Wakanda forever," before she has no breath left to speak with, and she blows away into the wind, having served her country with all the ferocity and fearlessness she could command. 

* * *

Natasha didn't know if, when death came, she'd go quietly or if she'd fight back, or even sneak past it like the spy she was.

When her time came, it wasn't even a consideration. She would go quietly. She can feel her body disappearing, and she goes quietly.

Clint runs through her head, her best and closest friend in the entire world. She hopes he survives this, this,  _whatever_ this is happening, her fingers tingling and burning and turning to dust with no pomp or ceremony. She hopes his family survives, that the Bartons are a little pocket of peace and a family of survivors.

Briefly, she spares a passing thought to Bruce, but she knows that they would never have truly worked. They both have too many issues, and two years apart only served to deepen the chasm they both knew was there.

Her biggest regret is that she couldn't wipe out the marks on her conscience like she wanted, that she died an unredeemed murderer.

But then she remembers protecting Wanda, fighting for what she believes, being an  _Avenger._

And she closes her eyes and fades away, satisfied.

* * *

Bruce jumps out of the armour as soon as he sees people disappearing, desperate to find Thor, ensure his safety. He can see Natasha disappear from the corner of his eye and a desperate pang runs through his heart, but hes still firmly set on the one he loves now.

Thor appears as if from nowhere and Bruce feels his tears well up as he is scooped up into Thor's arms, teary kisses pressed all over his face, and then his limbs start to tingle.

"Thor?" he asks tentatively, terrified that the Hulk would pick now to come out, glancing down and panicking as soon as he sees his feet start to fall apart. Thor follows Bruce's eyes downward, and his eyes widen - and Bruce had barely had time to process that Thor's eye was orange-yellow now, not blue - and his arms close tighter around Bruce, as though he could hold him together if he only tried.

"Bruce," Thor says, and his voice is soft and terrified. "No, Banner, Bruce, no, I can't lose you too, I've lost everything, no-"

But Bruce is fading fast and Hulk isn't making an appearance, he's squarely tucked away in his head, the head that would be gone before long.

He wants to stay for Thor, keep him safe and okay and fight for his happiness and use the anger constantly bubbling just under the surface to make it so that Thor can finally smile more often than frown.

But on the other hand, god if it wouldn't be nice to  _not_ be angry for once.

"Thor, I lo-"

Thor's arms close around empty air.

He barely has a chance to sob, to mourn the last speck of light and happiness in his life where everything has been snatched from him, to wish he could have saved everyone, saved Heimdall, saved Asgard, saved  _Loki-_

before he's gone too.

* * *

Clint disappears separate from the Avengers, at home, surrounded by family and a sobbing wife and he loves her and their children so so much.

He just wishes he'd seen Nat, hugged her, held his  _entire_ family in his arms as he disintegrated without glamour or a trace.

* * *

 

And the Avengers were disassembled.

 

**Author's Note:**

> yeah hi im grayson and im emo
> 
> can we hit 69 likes and comment for a free iphone x


End file.
